Hummus Chicken Salad Bowl

I used to despise sweet and savory mixed together. (Now if it’s food, chances are that I’ll eat it.)

I used to nap every day. (My eyes still get a little misty at the loss of this ritual.)

I used to hate mayo…

And then I got pregnant. All of a sudden, I was like “gimme that mayo and let me dip this burrito in it and maybe put some chocolate chips on top.” #pregnancystereotypes

Something that hasn’t changed: I LOVE a giant bottle of kombucha with lunch. 🙂

With the warmer weather, it’s been easier for me to enjoy large protein and produce-packed salads. Not only are they a satisfying mix of flavors and textures, but they’re a fun way to switch up the lunch rotation.

This particular recipe is for all the mayo-haters out there, or maybe mayo lovers like myself who just feel like walking on the chicken salad wild side.

I used hummus instead of mayo, and it was awesome.

When I saw that Trader Joe’s has tahini now (!) I felt inspired to make some hummus. It used to be a staple, but had fallen off the radar. I’ve been doing this each week to serve with crudités in the afternoon, and it’s a snack that Liv loves.

(For dinner parties, leave some of the chickpeas whole and sprinkle on top. Drizzle with olive oil and add smoked paprika. It looks beautiful on a veggie tray!)

For the chicken salad, I combined one chopped chicken breast with about 1/2 cup of the homemade hummus. I seasoned it with a little oregano and added chopped cornichons, and 1/4 sweet onion. You could add anything you love! Chopped celery or olives would be good, too.

For lunches, I’ve been enjoying it with veggies, a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of paprika.

Lunch is served, and hooray for leftovers for tomorrow.

What’d you have for lunch today? Mayo: yay or nay? Any good dip/hummus recipes??

I love this baked chicken hummus receipe my friend gave me. Chop squash and zucchini lay in a baking dish and drizzle with EVOO salt and pepper, then salt and pepper your chicken breasts lay on top of veggies in dish spread on the hummus over the chicken breasts, squeeze lemon juice and cut the lemons and lay over the entire baking dish, bake at 350 for approx 30 mins and amazing baked hummus chicken with veggies! One pan and so delicious!

No hummus recipes (I’m lazy), BUT if you want to do something else interesting with that tahini, you can make pretty kick-ass gf and vegan cookies! I used this recipe, doubled the vanilla, and used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar bc I don’t really buy the whole coconut sugar thing: http://saltedplains.com/chocolate-tahini-cookies-gluten-free-vegan/. I fed them to people at my gym with rave reviews!

Ha–I totally hear you on our tastes changing with age or circumstance. I used to never want food to overlap on a plate, i.e. Thanksgiving, now I’m cool with it mixing slightly, it’s tasty that way—weird kinda. I am a less is more when it comes to mayo—I prefer scant amounts of miracle whip on a BLT or in a cold pasta salad. It creeps me out to see a lot of that in food—bleh!
I picked up some hummus yesterday and it was guac-hummus=Yum! It’s the Holy Land brand and I didn’t know it was a local company, being that I’m in MN along with said company:)

Mayo NAY!!! No mayo in our house…all 6 of us don’t care for it. My mom’s always like “where’s the mayo?” when she visits. Haha

But hummus? I always ALWAYS have a tub of homemade in the fridge. My recipe is pretty similar to yours but I use 2x as much tahini (or PB or sunbutter if I’m out of tahini), no olive oil and I add back some of the can liquid to get the consistency I like. I definitely use hummus where most people use mayo! Great sub!

I love anything with chickpeas, so I love this mayo substitute idea! And you’re right, the summer is a great time to enjoy salads with protein. I love finding a restaurant with a deck that serves a great salad.

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Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the About page for more info. Thank you for reading! <3